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March 2017 Current Affairs Zinginfomedia.com March 2017 Current Affairs INTERNATIONAL EI Salvador becomes first country to ban metals mining EI Salvador, Central America’s smallest nation, has become the first country in the world to ban metals mining nation wide. The new law, supported by 70 lawmakers, bans all exploration, extraction and processing of metals both in open pits and mines. The level of environmental pollution in EI Salvador is one of the highest in the region and the availability of drinking water is the lowest. Peggy Whitson breaks Sunita Williams Spacewalk Record Peggy Whitson made a history when she floated outside the International Space Station. She broke the record for the most spacewalks Sumita Williams, Whitson at the age of 57, is making her eighth career spacewalk, surpassing the record of seven times held by Indian American Sumita Williams. Ms Whitson earned a doctorate in biochemistry and served as the first female space station commander in 2008. Jeff Bezos – Now the World’s Second Richest Person Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos has become the World’s second richest person adding $1.5 billion to his net worth at $ 75.6 billion, according to Bloomberg’s billionaire Index. According to Bloomberg, his net worth increased by $10.2 billion this year. Microsoft Co- founder Bill Gates remained the World’s richest person and topped Forbes annual list with an estimated net worth of $ 86 billion, up from $ 75 billion in 2016. Taliban Captures Southern Afghan city of Sangin The Taliban has captured the crucial city of Sangin in southern Afghanistan after a year-long battle. Afghan forces have made a tactical Zinginfomedia.com retreat from the center of Sangin. The fall of sangin came amid the insurgents year-long push to expand their foot print in the Taliban heartland of Helmand Province. It signals growing strength of Taliban in Afghanistan. Norway is the happiest place in the world Norway is the happiest place on the earth. It has over taking nearby Denmark from the No.1 position according to the World Happiness Report. Norway moved up from fourth place in the United Nations report with Iceland in third, Switzerland in fourth, and Finland in fifth. The United states is No.14 and United Kingdom is No.19 positions. Italy Ranked World’s Healthiest Country Italy has been ranked as the healthiest country on Earth with a health score of 97.44 out of 100. According to the 2017 Bloomberg Global Health Index of 163 countries released on 20 March, 2017. The reason behind the healthy citizens of Italy is cited to lot of dependence on leafy diets drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Iceland placed second with a score of 96.20 and Switzerland placed third with a score of 94.96. Japan launches satellite to Monitor North Korea Japan on 17 March 2017 launched a new satellite to track land and maritime movements in North Korea. The satellite will also be able to conduct surveys on the war weapons programme of the secretive nuclear armed state. The launch project was conducted jointly by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The move comes shortly after North Korea launched four banned ballistic missiles into the sea of Japan;s north west coast, alarming both Japan and US. Saudi Arabia Inaugurates Girls Council In a bid to encourage women participation in Work Force, Saudi Arabia has for the first time decided to launch a Girl’s Council. The meeting in Zinginfomedia.com the al-Qassim Province was attended by 13 male numbers while the women were present too but they were in another room linked via video due to strict Saudi laws on gender segregation between unrelated men and women. The council was about women participation in the work force from 22% to 30% as part of its vision 2030 program. US Senate confirms Seema Verma for Health care post Indian -American Seema Verma is appointed for a top health care position in the Trump administration. Her appointment was confirmed by the US senate after 43 votes out of 55 has secured by Verma. Verma is expected to play a key role in the government’s bid to “repeal and replace”,She is known as the architect of health care reforms in several states in America. First Fluorescent Frog Found in Argentina A group of scientists discovered the world’s first fluorescent frog near Santa Fe in Argentina. The frog sports a muted palette of greens, yellows, and reds under normal light, but emits a bright blue and green glow in the dark. The molecules contain a ring structure and a chain of hydrocarbons. The closest similar molecules are found in plants. Japan to send its largest warship to South China Sea In its biggest show of naval force since World War II, Japan is planning to send its largest warship. “JS Izumo” on a 3 months tour through the South China Sea, starting from May 2017. The main aim is to test capability of the Warship by sending it out on an extended mission. The 249 m long carrier is as large as Japan’s World War -II-era carriers and can operate up to 9 helicopters. Pakistan set to conduct its first Census in 19 years Pakistan is set to conduct its first national census in 19 years which will begin on 15 March with the assistance of over 2,00,000 troops. Army spokesman Major General Asif Ghafoor and Minister of state for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb addressed a joint conference about Zinginfomedia.com preparation for the census, which will be conducted in phases and will be completed conducted in two phases and will be completed on May 25. Syrian troops with Russian support recaptured historic city of Palmyra Syrian troops backed by Russian jets recently recaptured the historic city of Palmyra from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Palmyra was first seized by the militant group in May 2015. After capturing the city. UNESCO world heritage site was destroyed systematically. The city was listed in UNESCO’s world heritage site for hosting numerous ancient monuments and temples. South Korea and America Begin Annual Military Drill Foat Eagle The United States and South Korea troops started their large scale military drill named Foal Eagle. The aim of the military exercise is to test their defence readiness against the threat from North Korea. North Korea Conducted its first ballistic missile test of 2017 in February and views the Foal Eagle Exercise 2017 as Preparation for war against it. Malaysia to cancel visa-free entry for North Koreans Malaysia has decided to cancel the Visa-free travel permit to the North Koreans, following the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the estranged half brother of the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Kuala Lumpur Airport. The announcement was made by deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid. The Visa-free entry for North Koreans will be cancelled from 6 March 2017. WHO Releases 12 Priority Pathogenic Super Bugs list The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released its first ever list of antibiotic-resistant priority pathogens-a catalogue of 12 families of bacteria. The list was given to development of new antibiotics, as part of WHO efforts to address growing global resistance to antimicrobial medicines. The list highlights in Particular the threat of gram-negative Zinginfomedia.com bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics. These bacteria have built- in abilities to find new ways to resist treatment and that can allow other bacteria to become drug-resistant as well. INDIA & WORLD India Be comes Third largest in Domestic Air Traffic India which is rising high in the field of aviation now attained a still higher position by pushing Japan back, achieving a 3rd spot in domestic air traffic behind USA and China. USA topped with 719 million passengers and followed by China 436 million passengers. India attained 3rd spot with 100 million passengers in 2016. India pushed back Japan which had only 97 million passengers last year. Five Indian Cities included in World Heritage List The Union Govt recently informed that five Indian Cities were included in the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The Information was given by the Union Minister of state for Cultural and Tourism (Independent Charge) Dr. Mahesh Sharmain. The list of five Indian cities are Ahmedabad, Delhi, Jaipur, Bhubaneswar and Mumbai. Indian cities among cheapest globally Economist Intelligence Unit Four Indian cities among the cheapest to live in globally, while Singapore has been ranked as the most expensive for the fourth consecutive year, as per a report by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Bangalore (3rd) place, Chennai (6th), Mumbai (7th) and New Delhi (10th) have been ranked by EIU among the 10 cheapest cities in the world. Almaty has been ranked as the cheapest city in the World followed by Lagos. India Ranked 131 on Human Development Index Zinginfomedia.com According to the UN Development Programme’s Human Development Report 2016, released on March 21, 2017. India ranked 131 of 188 when it comes to the Human Development Index (HDI). This put it in the medium category. The Index is based on three dimensions, life expectancy at birth, mean years of schooling and expected years of schooling and gross national income per capita. India’s HDI at 0.624, was behind Sri Lanka and the Maldives in South Asia. Norway, Australia and Switzerland are placed in top three positions. First Airbus Training Center in Asia to be set up in New Delhi France based Aircraft maker Airbus will set up Asia’s first training facility for pilots and maintenance engineers in New Delhi.
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